Debunking Gua Sha and Face Rollers

If you like skincare and have been on social media anytime recently, chances are you've seen them. The all-knowing algorithm has likely served you up some aesthetic content featuring rose or jade coloured face rollers and rounded, moon-shaped skin scrapers (also known as gua sha).

We don’t deny that they look the part. But do they actually work?

Let’s find out.

What are the benefits?

Even though many international K-Beauty stores these days sell them,  gua sha and jade rollers are not part of Korean beauty in Korea. Instead, they are massage techniques used within traditional Chinese medicine (‘gua sha’ means skin scraping in Chinese).

These tools are meant to help with lymphatic drainage, stimulating blood flow, boosting circulation and reducing inflammation wherever applied to the skin.

In the context of skincare, fans of gua sha say that regular use can smooth out wrinkles, decongest your skin and reduce puffiness.

How do you use them?

If you’ve seen gua sha used for sports and physical rehabilitation, you might be put off by the bruising. However, facial gua sha is far gentler.  Commonly, you hold either your gua sha or face roller at a 45 degree angle and scrape against the skin in an upwards and outwards motion for a few minutes each day.  For a smoother routine, some users will apply a facial oil before scraping.

Do they live up to the hype?

If you’re going to be rubbing rocks all over your face on the regular, you’ll probably want to know you’re getting something out of it, right? This all comes down to having realistic expectations.

Any physical pressure on your skin is going to have some stimulating effect on surface blood flow and feel nice (especially if you keep your tools nice and cool in the fridge). If you’re hoping face rolling will get rid of wrinkles, give you clearer skin or a natural face lift, keep your expectations in check.

Facial gua sha is (and should be) a relatively gentle process. Any material changes to your skin would likely require a lot more than a gentle scrape or roll across your face.  The pressure of a facial gua sha simply won’t go deep enough to boost the collagen and elastin required to see long-term, visible improvements.

 

TL;DR 

If you’re interested in using a face rolling tool, you’re unlikely to cause any harm in doing so. However, don’t expect them to produce any skincare miracles. 

This is one skincare trend it's not worth spending too much money on. 

 

Have you used a gua sha or face roller? Let us know in the comments!

 

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